


That One Time Neil Helped Plan An Assassination

by RedHeadFireBred



Series: That One Time Neil Ended Up In a Fairy Tale [2]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - No Exy (All For The Game), Alternate Universe - Royalty, Andrew is a swan this entire fic, Crack Treated Seriously, Cuddling & Snuggling, Curse Breaking, Curses, Dialogue Light, Domestic Fluff, Elves, Elvish, Fairy Tale Curses, Fairy Tale Elements, Fantasy, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Half-Elf Kevin Day, Half-Elves, He needs sleep, He still is, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Kinda, Knight Kevin Day, Language Barrier, Languages, Lebedínoye Ózero | Swan Lake References, M/M, Magic, Neil Josten Is an Idiot, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Oblivious Neil Josten, Or does he, POV Neil Josten, Planning Adventures, Platonic Cuddling, Potions, Prince Andrew Minyard, Princes & Princesses, Protective Aaron Minyard, Royalty, Soft Andrew Minyard, Soft Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Sorry Not Sorry, Stressed Kevin Day, Treason, True Love, What Was I Thinking?, Witch Neil Josten, Witchcraft, Witches, Y'all get ready for little dialogue, aaron's trying to break his brother's curse, andrew is the swan princess, apparently y'all liked it in the last fic, but at least he doesn't have that nickname anymore, enchanted woods, honestly this is still a crackfic, i literally copied my tags from my last fic, more than one person liked my last fic so im continuing this series, so get ready for lots of honking, so there's more in this one, still don't know how to tag, still so much honking, they aren't together yet so i guess technically?, with neil we may never know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:42:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28562250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedHeadFireBred/pseuds/RedHeadFireBred
Summary: There's treason going on in the Palace of Palmetto, so what's a Crown Prince to do when the only person who can prove who the treasonists are is someone who spends most of the day transformed as a swan?Apparently, plot a way to kill said treasonists using your best knight and a witch you found in the woods that your brother is oddly attached to.~*~Or, Andrew is still cursed, Neil still doesn't want to be bothered but will leave his only safety for a guy he didn't know was a human person for the past three months, and Kevin made the mistake of revealing he speaks Elvish.NOTE: There is a first part I'd recommend reading first but you don't have to in order to read this fic!
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Series: That One Time Neil Ended Up In a Fairy Tale [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2092800
Comments: 26
Kudos: 259





	That One Time Neil Helped Plan An Assassination

**Author's Note:**

> More than one person didn't hate my 3am crackfic so I'm giving in to peer pressure and writing more!
> 
> Lol no I ended up coming up with an entire idea of how to expand this universe or whatever so get ready for 8 more parts of weird magic and cursed princes and lots and LOTS of honking. Seriously, for a majority of this Andrew is gonna be a swan, and he can only honk. 
> 
> Someone save him.
> 
> Oh, also! I don't know how modern witchcraft stuff works. I have a friend who's a witch but I was too nervous to ask them anything so I made a lot of stuff up, feel free to yell at me I accept it with open arms.
> 
> Here's a little fic to tide y'all over until I finish up the other parts, I was on a roll today I'm surprised. Hope it's still as good as the first one, thank you darlings!

Neil blinked his eyes open to see the pinkish hues of the morning sky, starting to bleed into blue. It was weird to sleep outside on a pile of blankets and pillows, but at the same time doing so was a strange sort of comfort. Especially since he’d been falling asleep next to someone in recent days, helping him keep warm despite the fact these sacred grounds had an old magic of their own, keeping the place the climate desired, like certain parts of the Enchanted Forest could.

After letting his eyes adjust, Neil turned his head to his left, where he found a pale-gold swan curled up in some blankets. Andrew had clearly decided to go back to sleep instead of waking Neil up when he transformed. It was nice to have some more time to sleep rather than be rudely interrupted by a swan’s honks at sunrise.

Neil sat up. It had been five days since he learned Andrew was a cursed prince and the swan he’d once affectionately - or torturously - called Honker. That and the fact there was currently a plot to take over the Kingdom of Palmetto and get Prince Riko of E’Allen to take over the throne, but Neil preferred to think about Andrew as opposed to anything else.

He wasn’t like Neil thought a prince might be. Andrew told Neil of his background: of Queen Tilda listening to a seer’s rambles of twins being bad luck and giving up one of her sons. How Andrew had grown up in the Palmetto kingdom, going from home to house and how some of those places were worse than others. Of one day running into his brother and how Aaron had confronted their mother and how Andrew was taken back into the royal family. About how much they hated each other, especially after Tilda’s death, but with time and healing grew close.

Neil had eaten up every bit of truth given, and gave back some of his own. Some of his fonder memories and even going so far as to explain he’d recognized Kevin, and that they once knew each other. Andrew never pushed for more than Neil gave, so the witch offered the same in return.

At the same time they spent their nights together, learning who the other was, they were working with Kevin and Aaron and Nicky on a plan to take out Riko. Neil couldn’t think of what would lure Riko out other than his plot getting revealed, but Aaron argued he had no proof Riko was involved other than Andrew’s word, and Andrew couldn’t speak during the day.

Neil thought Riko was sketchy enough, but apparently that wasn’t just cause for killing a prince.

Eventually they decided they needed to get word to Crown Prince Ichirou about Riko’s plans to take the throne. The message couldn’t be delivered by mail or magic, but instead _had_ to be in person. Kevin made the choice to deliver the message himself with Neil in tow. Andrew decided he was going with as well, which was...an experience.

“You can’t go,” Aaron had immediately told him. “You can’t leave.”

Neil had stared at the table instead of eying the brothers, since he knew the exact face Andrew was making. “I _can_ leave,” Andrew had argued.

“You can’t leave these grounds at night.”

“Not as a human. I don’t need to be human to go.”

Aaron had scoffed but had mostly been stunned to silence. Nicky didn’t offer any arguments and Kevin didn’t seem eager to either. Neil didn’t think Andrew being stuck as a swan mattered because he was just as capable of taking care of himself when he was a bird as he was as a human. Plus, he’d have Neil there to keep an eye on him.

“Can you fight?” Kevin had asked Neil. He was pretty sure that was all the half-elf cared about in regards to the mission.

“Yes,” Neil had answered. “I’ll need a few days to prepare. Healing potions, charms, supplies.”

Kevin had nodded. “Three days,” he’d said.

It was the last day. They would leave by nightfall and travel as long as it would take to reach E’Allen. Last night was the last time Neil would see Andrew as a human for a while, and it left a cold feeling in his chest. But the faster they took care of Riko, the faster the curse could be broken, and the faster Andrew and Aaron could take care of their uncle and…

Looking at the swan still sleeping on the blankets, Neil frowned to himself. He hadn’t thought about what would happen after the curse was lifted, mostly because he was being realistic about the mission and didn’t think he would survive. If they made it to E’Allen in one piece he knew for certain the royals would recognize him even if Kevin didn’t. Neil Josten would die one way or another.

Not that he’d told anyone. He didn’t want to bring down the mood.

Getting up from the blanket next, Neil walked to the table where he’d brought a basket full of breakfast. He wasn’t a fan of eating first thing in the morning, but Andrew was. Neil had baked some more sweet bread and ripped apart pieces to put on a plate for when his friend would wake up. Not long after the plate was finished did he do so, sniffing and shaking his body, watching Neil closely.

“Do you want to eat there?” Neil asked with a small smile. He didn’t wait long for a reply, and just brought the plate over after a moment. Andrew let out a quiet honk and started to eat the bread. “You’re welcome,” Neil said, turning back to the table to clean it up.

Over the three months he’d known Andrew (before _knowing_ Andrew) the two had adopted a quiet language of their own. Andrew wasn’t able to communicate like other animals, but it wasn’t as difficult to get across what they wanted to say anymore. They talked to each other with gestures and nudges, nips to fingertips and long looks. One time Nicky had teased him about it, but Neil didn’t see what there was to tease about understanding Andrew when he couldn’t speak out loud.

Once finished packing up his things, Neil walked back to the blanket nest and sat down next to Andrew, watching him finish eating the sweet bread. “My charms should be finished today,” he started to ramble. “I’ll make a few more healing potions and then we’ll be set.”

Andrew watched him for a moment, then honked and stood up on the blankets, waddling into Neil’s lap. The witch started petting him at the base of his neck right away, smiling at the tiny purr he got as a reward. He was sure if it was up to Andrew they’d sleep their last day away before moving all night, like Kevin would surely want to. Neil had some stamina potions ready, as well as tea with unhealthy amounts of caffeine to keep him going. At least Andrew could sleep on the journey if he wanted to.

“We need to go,” Neil whispered to the swan in his lap. Andrew just grunted and didn’t move. “Come on. If you want, I’ll carry you.”

Andrew honked and jumped out of his lap, flapping his wings a few times in clear irritation. Neil got to his feet, put his cloak on and made sure to grab everything he’d brought to the sacred grounds: his bow and quiver full of arrows, basket full of food and cutlery, and the charms he’d been making late last night while he and Andrew talked. Once ready Andrew led the way out, flying through the trees at a lazy pace.

When they got back to the cottage, Neil quickly went about putting his things away and then got to brewing some potions. Andrew watched him work from his spot on the counter, apparently deciding that now was the perfect time to prune his wings. Neil ended up cleaning the fallen feathers off the floor of his kitchen, which gave him an idea. While his potion brewed, he grabbed a few things out of his cabinets and quickly started to make some more charms, winding one of Andrew’s feathers into each.

He flew to the table after a while and stuffed his face into what Neil was making. The witch gently pushed his head away with a smile. “Don’t stick your face there. You could get cursed. Again.”

Andrew just gave him an unimpressed look. It wasn’t the first time Neil had scolded him for getting in the way of what he was making, but even though he told the prince off, Neil was pretty sure Andrew could tell these charms had no magic yet. He got up and grabbed a pair of scissors, cutting off a small lock of hair. He was due for a haircut anyway - by now his auburn curls had gotten long enough he had to push his hair back with a tie or band to keep it from falling into his eyes all the time.

He sat back down and put the hair into a tiny vial attached to a chain, next to Andrew’s feather. Afterwards, he sealed the vial and showed Andrew what he’d made. “It’s an exigency charm,” he explained. “They’re used for emergencies. If we’re ever separated you can call others with the same charm for help by breaking them.”

After examining the charm, Andrew nodded with approval. Neil set that one down and got to his feet, going to his potion to mix it and bring it off the burner. “I’ll need to get some of Kevin’s hair when he shows up. Then they’ll be ready.”

The rest of the day was spent finishing up the charms and potions. Neil counted out how many of each potion he’d made, sealing his jars and packing them away in the bags he had. After dinner he packed away some provisions and went outside to the garden, whispering a spell to hopefully preserve it until he could come back. When he went back inside, Andrew was making a mess of his clothes in his bedroom, flinging some socks towards the bag on his bed.

“Why waste room with clothes?” he asked, but stuffed the socks into his bag anyway. “It’s not like we’re gonna have time to change.”

Andrew honked at him and attempted to fling some pants as well. They fell short but Neil got the message and added them to his pack.

Kevin arrived not long after Neil had finished packing, riding on a white horse and holding the reins of a brown one. He dismounted and helped Neil pack his things in the saddlebags, then let Neil take some of his hair for his charms. Once the small vials were sealed, he whispered the words needed to give the charms their power, pouring his magic into them. After that, he handed over one of three to Kevin and explained how the charm worked, stressing to only use it in an emergency.

Kevin nodded in understanding and turned to his horse. Neil pulled his pack on underneath his cloak and grabbed the big brimmed pointed hat Nicky had given to him as a joke two days ago. It was a dark blood orange color with multiple patches, and it was honestly ugly but it kept Neil’s head warm and would hopefully keep the sun from burning his skin while they rode during the day (ah, the curses of red hair). Andrew had tried to steal it both as a human and swan but Neil managed to keep it safe. When he saw the hat, Andrew honked at him and flew onto the brown horse’s saddle. Neil walked close to the horse and introduced himself, patting her snout. She introduced herself as Esprit and they exchanged a few more greetings.

Andrew honked at him again. Clearly someone was impatient.

After swatting at the pale-gold swan and pulling himself onto the saddle, Neil nodded to Kevin and let him lead the way. It took a lot more willpower than he thought it would to not look back at the cottage as they left, but after a few seconds he focused ahead, where Andrew had decided to awkwardly place himself. He was staring, as though he was searching for something. Neil offered a smile.

With another huff, Andrew tucked himself more towards Neil and seemed to settle down, as though he was going to sleep. Neil looked ahead at the trail where Kevin was and tried to calm his nerves about leaving the forest. His hands itched with magic but he pushed it back, not letting it get too close to the surface. 

Other than the sounds of night and the horses, the ride out of the forest was silent. The moon shone brightly through the trees, and even more brightly when they finally reached the border, entering a large open field with a large dirt road. Kevin urged his horse faster to a canter so Neil followed, feeling oddly exposed without the trees to surround him. 

He glanced back down at Andrew, observing the prince staring up at the moon. Neil remembered his curse, and how he had to be at a specific lake when the moon shone to turn human. Despite him stating before he would go on this mission without being human, Neil imagined it was hard to do this. To spend so long in a different form, unable to communicate clearly with others and to be constantly reminded of the magic that kept him imprisoned.

Neil imagined Andrew was feeling kind of like he did, now. Oddly exposed, and in completely different territory.

He awkwardly drew his cloak further around them, trying to wrap Andrew up just a bit. The swan looked away from the moon and instead to him, clearly seeing what he was trying to do. Neil didn’t say anything, since any words like “I’m here” wouldn’t help reassure Andrew so much as it would probably irritate him. 

In some cases, actions speak louder than words. In their case, their entire relationship had been built on gestures. On understanding and trust and patience. They both knew this, so they didn’t need to say things out loud for the meaning to be there.

_“So, Kevin,”_ Neil instead said loudly in Elvish. Learning Kevin spoke the language opened up so many opportunities the knight probably hated. _“Want to hear about the time I accidentally grew a pumpkin so large it exploded?”_

Kevin didn’t answer, but his shoulders hunched just slightly, so Neil counted that as a win. Andrew snorted and curled up a bit more, hiding his head in his wing and closing his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi again.
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to read this fic! I also wrote this one late at night before remembering I had to work so that was a yikes. I just wanted to write a super quick thing to set up the rest of the works I'm making for this series, it's all gonna be one-shots because I don't feel like adding more chapters to what I already wrote, and I feel like that one can be a stand alone fic so. Yeah.
> 
> Don't worry I have a plan and by that I mean I quickly jotted down what I wanna do in all lowercase. There's gonna be 8 parts of crack and fluff and more honking because of course there will be. Hope you enjoyed this short and sweet fic, let me know your thoughts! I truly enjoy constructive criticism it helps me improve.
> 
> Come talk to me on tumblr if you'd like! @jingerhead


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